In Oklahoma, the end of winter and beginning of spring is a tricky whiplash kind of season. We get teased with a mildly warm day then the cold comes back with a vengeance. We’re given a handful of warm days in a row, enough for buds to form on the Bradbury pear trees that congregate in my front yard, until the cold returns again burying the fresh growth under a layer of sleet or snow. The funny thing is the same I often see in ministry life. Church programs progress throughout February and March, but attendance becomes fickle. People show up one week to church, then the next week, they don’t. They look tired, impassive. As ministry wives, we can grow apathetic too. We can find ourselves going through the motions to keep our families afloat and that ministry train moving. Over the years, I’ve come to call these weeks “spring fever,” partly for the crankiness that arises due to the weather. But mostly I call it this because it gives my feelings a name, and yours too. It reminds us I that, for the sickness of apathy, there is a cure. There’s a remedy for the numbness and angst we feel. And more importantly, it reminds me that we don’t have to stay this way for long. Let me explain.

The term “spring fever” dates back centuries to a time when the onset of spring brought along the unwanted symptoms of scurvy, a disease caused by a significant deficiency in vitamin C. Over the harsh winter months, people had few fresh fruits and vegetables to supply them with this much-needed nutrient. Therefore, their bodies would begin to experience symptoms of lack—weakness, exhaustion, muscle pain, bleeding gums. Even more, wounds people might incur wouldn’t properly heal. It was a debilitating disease to endure.

People called the disease “spring fever” because it came on the cusp of springtime, and no one back then quite understood why. Its arrival, of course, scientists eventually learned had nothing to do with spring. Rather, it was about the ongoing neglect and lack of steady nourishment throughout the cold months of January and February. Little did they realize that all it took to cure the disease was to reintroduce a consistent regimen of vitamin C into their diets. With an orange a day, symptoms could dramatically improve in as little as two weeks.

You may be wondering how this has anything to do with ministry life. Scurvy, after all, is a medical condition not a spiritual one. Yet it serves as a poignant metaphor for our spiritual lives. Think about it. When we begin to feel apathy—when we feel worn down, depleted, indifferent, restless, easily offended, unable to forgive—perhaps it a sign that we’re also lacking something. Perhaps it means we need a little more vitamin C in our spiritual diets. I’m referring to the capital “C” kind of nourishment, the one that comes only through quality time spent with Jesus Christ.

Life is so busy, especially for ministry wives. We have family responsibilities, job responsibilities, church responsibilities, and so much more. But when life seems all too much, we can still choose to follow Jesus’ own model of replenishment by withdrawing for a short time “to the wilderness to pray.” We can let our apathy be a spiritual barometer. We can let our indifference not bring shame to us but to remind us that God is calling. He’s wanting to give a little extra divine TLC. After all, we need more of His strength, hope, wisdom, peace, reassurance, and especially His joy to finish well (Luke 5:16; see also Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, and Luke 6:12).

When can you carve out an hour in the evening to spend with the Lord?

When can you mark your calendar and make a date with God?

When can you let go of “doing quiet time” so that you could mark if off your to-do list and instead soak in His Word, even if that means meditating on just one verse?

When can you play a worship song and simply sit, even if it’s in your car in the middle of a crowded school parking lot?

Depending upon where you live, spring may be dawning, or it may yet be around the corner. Either way, we can be intentional about carving out a some time to spend with our Savior. If life is crazy, ask God to help you find a few spare minutes, ask Him to expedite your connection with Him, ask Him to give you creative ways to engage with Him. I’ve had many a God moment over a basket of laundry and with my hands elbow deep in a sink full of dirty dishes. Just remember no one can pour from an empty cup. Giving ourselves the gift of time with Jesus is just as important as giving to others. In fact, it’s the only way we can truly have anything to give. Won’t you let Jesus into your apathy this season? After all, He understands. He delights in you. Better yet, He wants to meet you whenever, wherever, however… right where you are.